Katie Johnson

Katie Johnson, Houston, Texas, is the backbone of JKJ Motorsports, Inc, as Katie is Jonathan’s wife and co-owner of the racing team. She handles the website, graphic design, promotional materials and many of the decisions made within the team. Katie and Jonathan have been racing together since 2005. Together, they handle every aspect of the racing organization, from marketing to cooking.

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Corky Wheeler

Corky Wheeler has been involved in racing since the 1960s. It was 1962 when he bought his first car, a 1934 Ford Gas Coupe. He raced the coupe for two years before selling it to purchase a Boogie Scott dragster. Wheeler loved his new ride but unfortunately, the car only lasted four runs before being severely mangled due to a nasty run in with a telephone pole at a race at Freeway Dragstrip in South Houston, Texas. Obviously, this turn of events led to some time off while chassis man Boogie Scott from Louisiana front halved the car.

In 1966, Wheeler, George DeLaMatyre, and Nickey Felsher hit the track. They truly loved traveling around with their cars and racing whenever and wherever the opportunity presented itself. With some success along the way, they elected to install an ARDUN Hemi in Corky’s car in 1970. The car was amazing and ball to drive. However, due to the expense of running the car and a need to stay closer to home to tend to business, Mr. Wheeler elected to sell the dragster and go motocross racing, where he competed for the next four years.

Following motocross, Corky stayed away from racing until 1985 when he got into 3-Wheeler racing. This was something Corky really enjoyed and he raced competitively for the next three years. It was then when a fellow 3-wheeler racer introduced him to Micro Sprints. He decided this was something he had to do. For the next couple of years, Corky and wife, Beth traveled all over Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kansas racing Micro Sprints. With much success, the Wheelers elected to take on full-size midgets in 1990 and bought a Volkswagen Midget from Illinois. A year later, they elected to purchase a Beast Chassis Midget, a twin to Jeff Gordon’s car. For the next five years, they campaigned the midget out of Steve Stapp’s shop in Indianapolis.

Then, in 1993, Corky elected to put up-and-comer Tracy Hines in the car full time. This proved to be a good move as the team began to excel and was a contender for the USAC National Championship on a few occasions. In 1996, the duo finished second in the USAC National Midget Championship. Pleased with their results, Tracey had several offers from some of the mega teams and Corky encouraged him to pursue those opportunities to elevate his career to the next level. He has since gone on to be a multiple time champion in the USAC Midget and USAC Sprint Car classes.

For the next several years, Corky and Beth spent a great deal of time pursuing one of their favorite past times, bird hunting. It was not until 2006, when Corky and Nickey went to watch friend, George DeLaMatyre, run his Nostalgia car that much thought had been given to racing. After the burnout, the two were once again hooked.

In October 2006, Corky purchased another dragster and Nickey followed suit soon thereafter. The two made the proper licensing procedures and were ready to race. Unfortunately, Corky would encounter some back issues that left him on the sidelines and he put longtime friend Jonathan Johnson in the car. In early 2009, Nickey Felsher passed away from a long battle with cancer. Corky purchased his car from his wife, Millie. He and Jonathan have installed the drive train in their new dragster and are looking forward to getting to race the engine that Nickey never had the opportunity to run.

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Greg King

Greg King, Beaumont, Texas, has been involved in auto racing since the early 1990s. Since then he has acquired a knack for assembling race cars and is very meticulous in his mechanical abilities. Greg played a large role in the assembly and racing efforts of late team friend Nickey Felsher. Mr. King also is Corky’s right hand man at the shop and at the track. Greg looks forward to every opportunity to see the cars run.

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Super Comp Dragster

Betty III is the Mullis dragster operated by Johnson and Wheeler Racing. The name comes from a long line of "Betty" racecars, which started with Johnson's 2008 dirt modified. Therefore, the Mini-Sprint Jonathan raced in 2009 was Betty II, and now the dragster becomes Betty III, or Betty the Third. Betty the Third has high standards to live up to as her older sisters were very successful race cars and we feel she will fit the blood line well.

• Car – NHRA Super Comp / Fast Brackets Dragster
• Engine – Houston Engine and Balancing 522 C.I. Chevrolet
• Horsepower – 950
• Chassis – Mullis Race Cars 240” Swing-Arm Top Dragster
• Transmission – Powerglide by Arabie Racing Automatics
• Rear End – Strange Fabricated 9” with 4.10 Gear
• Fuel – VP Racing 114+
• Oil Additive – Rislone High Performance Oil Treatment
• Induction – DC Carburetion on Sonny’s / Brodix Intake and Cylinder Heads
• Safety – Simpson Race Products
• Sanction Body – NHRA / IHRA
• Owner – JKJ Motorsports, Inc – Houston, Texas
• Crew – Katie Johnson, Corky Wheeler, Greg King

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